Donyell Marshall

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DONYELL MARSHALL - PAGE 4

Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Bam Morris pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges he sold marijuana and laundered money. Morris, 28, pleaded guilty to two of four counts of a federal indictment. He admitted attempting to distribute more than 100 kilos of marijuana in the Kansas City area between Jan. 1, 1998 and May 10, 2000. The agreement came just as his trial was to begin. Pro basketball: The Utah Jazz was expected to complete a four-team trade that would bring Golden State Warriors forward Donyell Marshall to Salt Lake City.

Partly because of matchups and partly to get Donyell Marshall going, Bulls coach Bill Cartwright inserted the struggling forward into the starting lineup. The move paid off, even after an irritable incident for both men. Before the game Cartwright was visibly agitated that he had to find Marshall to ask him if he planned to get some warmup work done. Marshall, typically one of the last to take individual pregame work, was perplexed because he merely was getting treatment on his sore back.

For two days, Bill Cartwright has answered questions patiently about his hold on his victory-starved Bulls. Cartwright, as he did again Monday, steadfastly insists that he hasn't lost his team. Talk is cheap. Ultimately, all coaches are judged by their won-lost record, their ability to develop players and how hard their teams play. If Monday's effort is an indication, Cartwright is right. Playing team basketball and doing so with energy, the Bulls hung on to edge Phoenix 90-87 before 17,057 at the United Center.

Bill Cartwright said he is not concerned about nagging injuries that kept Donyell Marshall, Eddie Robinson and Jay Williams out of an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday. Marshall's sore right hamstring is expected to sideline him for Thursday's exhibition opener against Boston as well, and at least initially, it will deprive the Bulls of an opportunity to experiment. The plan this season is to play Marshall at both forward positions. But Cartwright will likely only use the 6-foot-9-inch, 235-pounder at power forward against smallish teams.

Here are more quick hits from Bulls land, in between NCAA tournament games. Hey, with five players' alma maters represented and a team pool at stake, they're watching too. - Tyson Chandler wants revenge. In six career games and four starts against the Knicks, Chandler is averaging 7.7 points and nine rebounds and had a 19-rebound game against them Jan. 13. But he followed that on Jan. 14 with a four-point, five-rebound disappearing act and said some Knicks taunted him. Anybody in particular?

Donyell Marshall took some good-natured ribbing Sunday for standing so close to Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun after the Huskies won the NCAA championship that it appeared as if he were part of the team. But Marshall's recent visit to San Antonio provided him an up-close look at Emeka Okafor, a soon-to-be fellow UConn alum, who is high on the Bulls' wish list come the June 24 draft. "He'll be a good player," Marshall said. "He can play center sometimes in the East, but I think he'd be better suited as a power forward.

How about that Bulls Big Four? Who even knew the Bulls had a Big Four. No one was even sure they had a Big One. Jalen Rose, who has been the biggest of the Bulls this season, again Monday night led the team with 24 points in a 94-83 victory over the Boston Celtics. But it was Donyell Marshall, Marcus Fizer and Tyson Chandler, all with double-doubles in points and rebounds, who drove the Bulls to an impressive victory over the Atlantic Division leaders, their fourth win in the last five games.

Eddie Robinson showed this week that he does have a Bulls uniform in his wardrobe. Robinson made his exhibition debut Monday against Minnesota, throwing down an alley-oop for his only points, and followed with a full practice Tuesday. The injury-plagued forward missed the first six exhibition games with a sore hamstring. "My timing on offense is way off, more than I thought it would be," Robinson said. "But I did other things to help the team win, like defense." Robinson also had two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 20 minutes.

Bulls GM John Paxson has been criticized for failing to address the Bulls' biggest need, a legitimate outside shooter. In four games this season, the Bulls haven't shot above 40 percent from the field, even in their one victory. In their three losses, by a combined 87 points, they have shot 31.7 percent, 28.0 percent and 26.6 percent. That gives them an almost unfathomable 31.8 percent mark for the season. The combination of players being run out at small forward and the guard spots--Jalen Rose, Jamal Crawford, Kendall Gill, Donyell Marshall, Scottie Pippen and Eddie Robinson--have exactly one shooting performance better than 50 percent, Robinson's 2-for-3 night in the win over the Hawks.

Bill Cartwright remained coy about his regular-season starting lineup Thursday, merely saying Jalen Rose will play shooting guard. But at the rate Donyell Marshall is going, Cartwright will have no choice but to play the free-agent forward major minutes. "I would agree with that," the Bulls coach said. "But that doesn't mean I'm starting him." Marshall, showing a veteran attitude that stands out on such an inexperienced team, said he's ready for any role. "I'm not coming in looking at it as I have to start," he said.